The interest in live Internet event streaming has never been greater, yet the experience delivered by many webcasting companies and CDNs often falls short of user expectations. Video disruptions are all too commonplace, most providers can’t reliably transmit video in true HD quality, and mobile devices like smartphones and iPads get left behind. Although CDN operators generally provide a good viewing experience, they remain focused on SD rather than HD channels and on on-demand rather than live content. The transmission of video over the first mile remains a daunting challenge for everyone, as upstream bandwidth is determined by the MSO, satellite, or Telco provider and is typically far less than downstream bandwidth. Furthermore, in comparison with other types of network traffic, video is particularly susceptible to network errors and impairments, as these show up as video artifacts or freezes. Video quality is only as good as its weakest link; good long haul transmission quality cannot make up for poor first mile quality. Additionally, CDN entry points are far fewer, more spread out, and less scalable than CDN edge distribution points. Due to these architectural limitations, even tier-one CDN providers cannot guarantee stable end-to-end video quality, especially for live or HD video feeds.

ZiXi’s new ZCS Cloud Service solves all these problems and more. With Amazon’s web-based Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) running as a front-end service, ZCS gives businesses their own scalable and affordable cloud-based streaming platform. Using ZiXi’s patented network transport technology in the cloud, buffering and packet loss disappear, giving users an unparalleled viewing experience in vibrant and reliable High Definition (HD). To provide an optimum viewing experience for a wide range of devices and screen sizes, ZCS includes built-in high-performance transcoding. This real-time feature uses fast transrating to deliver the highest resolution display, regardless of playback device type. Administration and management of the ZCS service is completely web-based, with all elements of the system self-managed by the developer through the use of the Amazon-ZiXi software toolset. The Amazon EC2 solution is an innovative self-service solution that gives operators and users the ability to own and manage their components while investing only in usage and growth. ZCS uses virtual machines in the Amazon EC2 cloud to run ZiXi’s software image. This cloud-based approach is particularly cost effective and ROI favorable since payment is usage based and no up-front investment is needed. Using the latest services from Amazon & ZiXi, our EC2 solution is simple to install and intuitive to manage.

Applications

The ZiXi Cloud Service supports a wide range of popular streaming applications, including:

• Live and on-demand events in SD or full screen HD quality
• Multi-screen webcasts (PCs, smartphones, and tablets)
• High-Performance Transrating (or Transcoding) to support multiple bitrates retaining high resolution for dynamic adaptive streaming
• Dynamic protocol conversion into the most popular mobile streaming formats, including Flash and HLS
• Large-scale events with 1000+ viewers
• Distribution to external Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
• Amazon CDN integration

The ZiXi Cloud Service is available in three different configurations to meet the needs of a wide range of customers:

Benefits

• Flawless broadcastquality HD video at adaptive bitrates
• A cost-effective alternative to media server functions offering higher video quality
• Elimination of firstmile bottlenecks and network impairments
• Powerful integrated transcoding
• Reduced recurring costs in comparison with conventional webcasting solutions
• Very high platform and network reliability
• Low up-front investment
• Reduced staffing and hardware costs
• Multi-video input support: video cameras (using SPTS TS or RTMP encoder feeds) as well as file inputs (including cyclic mode)
• Solving the first mile challenge

Aimed at video and IT professionals seeking to distribute high quality or HD video over their own distribution network or a CDN, the ZiXi Cloud Service requires a mid-level technical skillset. System administrators should be comfortable configuring encoders, broadcasters, video servers, and CDN connections. This solution may not be appropriate for customers currently not using distribution networks, looking for advanced content management, or seeking a complete end-to-end solution.

Conclusion

The ZiXi Cloud Service is the ideal solution for businesses and corporations looking to deliver true HD video to Internet and Intranet connected clients. Whether viewed from a PC, smartphone, or tablet device, in their respective formats, each client gets outstanding broadcast video quality and reliability, every time. System administrators appreciate the flexibility, resiliency, and scalability offered with ZCS. With every streaming event, the recurring cost savings that comes with ZCS is sure to please every CFO.